Abstract

The growth mechanism of silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) synthesized at a high rate by means of expanding thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition technique are studied in this letter. A bimodal Gaussian size distribution is revealed from the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images, and routes to reduce the unwanted large Si NCs are discussed. Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopies are employed to study the size-dependent quantum confinement effect, from which the average diameters of the small Si NCs are determined. The surface oxidation kinetics of Si NCs are studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the importance of post-deposition passivation treatments of hydrogenated crystalline siliconsurfaces are demonstrated.

Financial support from the VIDI Project granted to Dr. A. H. M. Smets by NWO-STW is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank our colleagues Martijn Tijssen and İlker Doğan for the discussions on processing.

[Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in or on a common substrate or of specific parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of specific parts thereof, Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of
a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in or on a common
substrate or of specific parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of
specific parts thereof]